Bok wing Makazole Mapimpi has explained that he was not part of a post-match celebration huddle due purely to the fact that it was a ritual for the bench players known as the ‘bomb squad’.
Following the Boks’ win over Italy on Friday, a video went viral on social media showing certain players gathering in a group huddle, while Mapimpi walks away.
Many people jumped to conclusions on social media, suggesting Mapimpi had not been included based on racial reasons. However, Mapimpi responded to say that he had seen the video doing the rounds, and emphatically set the record straight.
‘We have players who we call the “bomb squad”, who generally come off the bench in the second half or whatever time in the game. They have their own calls and their own spirit as the bomb squad.
‘Basically what happens after each game is that we shake hands with the opposition. As we were completing the handshakes, the bomb squad was coming together to do their call or chant.
‘As I was walking towards them I realised that they were about to do their call, and that I wasn’t part of it, so I decided that I needed to move away.
‘I wasn’t part of it, but there was nothing wrong there with what they were doing – we are united as a team.’
What’s this now @SARugbymag
Look at Styn 23 when makazole is about to join them. pic.twitter.com/5YM5BFgygz— Lekukela Modjadji (@KingKuKstar) October 4, 2019
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Photo: Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP via Getty Images
